The evening set in across the plain. Rays of sun now slipping away as the clouds began to sweep across the sky, roars of thunder heard in the distance. I'll be waiting for you. The words, spoken without hesitation, now imprinted into the wind of the open field. It was time to go. Droplets of cold water began to descend from the sky, now battered against the stretched fabric of the umbrella. He pulled the ebony haired woman in close, her fingers grasped at the loose hangings of his jacket. Warmth still radiating from her cheeks through the icy wind. They reenter the forest, following an old trail, now cover with leaves and branches that crunched under their feet as they moved along.

A shallow outline of a person appeared off the edge of the worn path, slowly fading into recognition. The girl, sixteen at present, peered off into the distance of the forest, lingering slightly as the leaves of the trees danced behind her. She was unaffected by the rain, as it pierced through the dark umbrella she held, not a single rivulet of water strained upon its surface. The figure looks over at the shivering woman in his grasp. A familiar smirk painting its way across her ghostly face. She nods once, her eyes meeting his in a sign of approval, before fading away into the fog.

Tali someone's walking with your human!! *watches Tali blow up* Im not a big ShepxMaranda fan, but this is beyond great, I wish I had a bone I my body with the ability to draw a half decent stick figure. Great job!

It's basically my Shepard's origins reaching into his current life. I haven't yet disclosed who the younger girl is, though I'm sure several people have guessed. The location they are at is referenced from the picture of Miranda looking up at the stars, at the end of Mass Effect 3.

I don't really care much for Mass Effect, but your piece looks good and I don't know why they screwed you out of the contest. I'm sorry. Your work is original and within the original deadline, yet a last minute entry ripped off my work's basic themes (aside from the contest theme) and still got put up, so I'm very sorry.

His hoodie is casual wear, my favorite in fact. And really, it's the only thing I can expect him to wear post-ME3. He has no reason to wear dress blues or alliance grunt gear. And the leather jacket looks weird with skinny jeans and pointy shoes... Also, it's cold outside, he needs a nice fluffy hoodie to wear, and pass off to Miranda when she gets cold.